Dr. John – Things Happen That Way

06-10-2022

Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 - June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B. Active as a session musician from the late 1950s until his death, he gained a following in the late 1960s after the release of his album "Gris-Gris" (1968) and his appearance at the Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music. He typically performed a lively, theatrical stage show inspired by medicine shows, Mardi Gras costumes, and voodoo ceremonies. Dr. John's music style encompassed New Orleans blues, swamp blues, boogie-woogie, rhythm and blues, New Orleans R&B, jazz, soul, funk, psychedelic funk, blues rock, rock and roll, swamp rock and country music. Dr. John first became a star by taking the sounds and traditions of New Orleans blues, jazz, and R&B and twisting them into new forms, as evidenced by his run of early Atlantic and Atco albums from 1969's "Gris Gris" to 1974's hit "In the Right Place". As time went by, he would become one of the strongest proponents of the Crescent City's musical heritage, celebrating the songs that made the city, as well as the men and women who made them, great (1982's "The Brightest Smile in Town", 1992's "Goin' Back to New Orleans", and 2014's "Ske-Dat-De-Dat" : The Spirit of Satch being three representative examples). Throughout his career, he was widely recognized for his skillful and soulful approach to keyboards and guitar, with dozens of recordings on many labels over six decades, and literally thousands of shows across the globe. the posthumous "Things Happen That Way" was issued in 2022. "Mac" Rebennack (aka Dr. John) was planning future projects when his life was suddenly cut short in 2019. Now, three years after his untimely passing, a new studio album, "Things Happen That Way", has finally been released. The album, that arrived Sept. 23, 2022, on Rounder, features three new original new compositions, a reworking of his own 1968 classic, 'I Walk on Guilded Splinters', plus new interpretations of songs by Willie Nelson, Cowboy Jack Clement, Hank Williams, and the Traveling Wilburys. From the July 22 announcement : 'Growing up in New Orleans, the future legend developed a deep and abiding love for traditional Gospel music that stayed with him throughout his lifetime. During his remarkable six-decade run as one of the most original, distinctive, and influential voices in popular music, Rebennack put his inimitable stamp on many spirituals and Gospel-influenced songs.' During the sessions for "Things Happen That Way", Rebennack invited a few old friends to lend their voices to the project. Among those who happily obliged was Willie Nelson, one of Mac's close friends and most treasured musical collaborators. As Nelson said, "Dr. John had the most unique musical style and language that would take me to another place whenever I heard him play and sing." "Things Happen That Way" marks the fulfillment of a longtime goal of the six-time Grammy-winning singer/songwriter/pianist and 2011 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, who first began plotting a country-inspired album decades ago. In bringing his album's songs to life, Dr. John drew on a lineup of musicians befitting of a universally beloved luminary. Joining an elite cadre of New Orleans session players, the album's personnel also includes Aaron Neville (on the Traveling Wilburys' "End of the Line") and Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real. Dr John raves from the grave on star-studded album "Things Happen That Way", completed after his death. Dr. John (aka Mac Rebennack) was working this material up when he died of a heart attack in June 2019, but there's no sign that this posthumous release is a salvage job. Country-styled with plenty of New Orleans flavouring, Mac tackles Willie Nelson's 'Funny How Time Slips Away' (mangling the words but getting away with it) and tips his beret to Hank Williams ('I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry'). Nelson wanders in for 'Gimme That Old Time Religion' (old timers both), while his son Lukas Nelson & Promise Of The Real modernise 'I Walk On Guilded Splinters' with electronic mind-altering Mardi Gras jive. The new songs are the most reflective : 'Holy Water' deals with Mac's addictions, while 'Give Myself A Good Talkin' To' is sweetly confessional. Dr. John sounds in tip-top form here. Sometimes it's the cure that kills yer. "Things Happen That Way" is Dr. John's (Mac Rebennack) last album, recorded during his final months. Suffering from the severe heart disease that would take his life, he finished it, with a lot of help from his friends, shortly before his passing. The set was co-produced with guitarist Shane Theriot, who claims with credibility that it received Rebennack's seal of approval upon completion. This is an uncharacteristically intimate Dr. John offering, full of vulnerability, reverie, humor, and a nostalgic longing for the country music he listened to and loved as a kid, hanging around his dad's record store. It also includes some of his last originals. The core band on most of this comprises Theriot, bassist Will Lee, keyboardists Jon Cleary and David Torkanowsky, and drummer/percussionist Carlo Nuccio. Several of these tunes are country & western standards presented in the timeless NOLA vernacular Rebennack promulgated across the globe. The opener is a bluesy read of Willie Nelson's "Funny How Time Slips Away." Rebennack delivers the first verse accompanied by Cleary's piano before the band and backing chorus enter, ratcheting it up to party mode. A sinister, choogling electric guitar and drum shuffle introduce a dark, prophetic cover of Hank Williams' "Ramblin' Man," its drama revealed in the singer's deeply weathered voice. A few tracks later, he delivers a deeply moving cover of Williams' immortal "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," singing in a raggedly expressive vocal as if comparing the song's sentiment with much of his own history. "Gimme That Old Time Religion" is rollicking, stomping country-gospel given a woolly treatment by the band as Willie Nelson and Katie Pruitt assist on vocals to fine effect, the tonal and textural contrasts between these three voices is striking. There's a hip cover of the Traveling Wilburys' "End of the Line" with soulful duet and backing vocals from Aaron Neville and Pruitt rolling atop sultry horns and a funky B-3. The original "Holy Water" is a National Steel-driven blues; its lyrics recount Rebennack's '60s-era drug conviction and jail sentence. Pruitt's support vocal adds emotional heft to his testimony. Dr. John's "Sleeping Dogs Best Left Alone," with its fingerpopping horns, recalls the spirit of his albums with the Lower 911. Likewise, "Give Myself a Good Talkin' To" offers funky, swinging piano vamps leading the rhythm section and Rebennack's trademark wiseacre vocals in poignant self-assessment. The set closes with "Guess Things Happen That Way." Penned by Cowboy Jack Clement for Johnny Cash, it's presented as a bittersweet, country love song with gospel trappings. As Rebennack's emotion-wracked voice quavers and cracks across the lyrics, the band enfolds and buoys him. The only out of place tune on "Things Happen That Way" is, weirdly, the remake of "I Walk on Guilded Splinters," with Dr. John backed by Lucas Nelson & Promise of the Real. It's well done, but it's impossible to improve on the original's spooky perfection. All told, this a fitting, heartfelt, and bittersweet sign-off from an American treasure, and one fans will return to.

1 Funny How Time Slips Away 4:37

2 Ramblin' Man 3:52

3 Gimme That Old Time Religion

Featuring - Willie Nelson

3:24

4 I Walk On Guilded Splinters

Featuring - Lukas Nelson, Promise Of The Real

4:53

5 I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry 2:59

6 End Of The Line

Featuring - Aaron Neville

4:12